I Hate That Word
by Red Tigress
Summary: One-shot, drabble. Pepper hated that word, "Girlfriend".


Pepper hated that word, "Girlfriend."

She and Tony weren't 16. This wasn't some casual 'I come over to your house, we bang, maybe watch the Breakfast Club later and meet up for coffee tomorrow,' type thing.

How quaint.

She rolled her eyes as the goon who had abducted her (she also hated the word 'kidnapped') shouted into his phone for probably the twelfth time how he had 'Tony Stark's girlfriend'. The lapse in Stark Security (since Happy was still in the hospital) had been bad, for sure. That was an oversight that would be corrected as soon as she got back.

Which would be soon.

So far the only thing they had done was tie her to a chair in some abandoned office building in the sketchy part of town. Two idiots with automatic weapons watched her as her boss spat into the phone. She assumed he was on the phone with someone at S.I., but she was betting JARVIS and Tony both knew the situation unfolding.

She hoped to be gone long before they got here.

"Excuse me," she said, the tone in her voice demanding attention. He turned somewhat and stopped spitting into his phone. "We're not boyfriend and girlfriend." She gave a thin smile.

"You are fucking him, yes?" his accent placed him somewhere in the realm of Eastern Europe, she guessed.

She exhaled a small little puff of breath. "I wouldn't put it quite so esoterically."

He watched her for a moment, trying to puzzle out the meaning of her words.

"I'm not a trophy," she said flatly. "And unfortunately, you're not the first person to think of me that way. But I just wanted you to know, before I kill you, I am not someone's property, or fuck-buddy. We are _partners_."

He scoffed. "Den how come he must rescue you?" He gave a leering smile.

She gave a leer of her own. "No, you're misunderstanding me. If anything, he's _my_ backup." She pulled her wrists apart, the knot she had untied half an hour ago falling away. She reached into her blouse as she got to her feet, pulling out the small flash-bang miniaturized grenade there (as soon as she realized the abduction was happening, she had pulled it from her purse and stuffed it in her bra). She tossed it at the guys with the guns, covering her eyes and ears as she did so. She was rewarded with a scream of pain. The main guy was running towards her, spitting again as he hollered something in another language. She turned sideways, pulling her arm back. With all the force she could muster, which was a considerable amount, she threw her fist forward, punching him in the face and breaking his nose. He fell to the ground, screaming in pain, as she gave an angry huff of breath.

Shaking her hand loosely, (wow, it was painful breaking someone's nose) she started walking away from the moaning idiots.

The wall to her left exploded, and she screamed, stumbling away. Tony was there in the suit, hands up, metal boots clanging against the floor. The whirr of hydraulics sounded as he looked around, taking in the moaning men on the floor, and Pepper standing in front of him. His face mask popped up. "Uh…" he trailed off.

Pepper loved it when she stunned him into speechlessness. He was always so talkative, she knew his silence meant something meaningful. Beaming proudly, she put her hands on her hips. "You took your sweet time."

"Well, obviously, you didn't need me, I can see you took care of things yourself."

"Those flash bang grenades worked well," she said, approaching him.

He took her in his arms. "You know, I made those for Natasha."

"I liked them! Just because I'm not a superspy doesn't mean I can't like things that explode." She wrapped her arms around his metal-covered neck.

"Just what I need, another woman in my life with access to explosive materials," he mumbled.

"Oh shut up. You like it when I'm violent." She leaned in for a kiss, which he returned with fervor.

They broke apart and he waggled his eyebrows. "You're right. Just not when your violence is directed towards me." One of the henchmen with the guns started getting to his knees. Without looking, Tony let go of her waist with one arm, and fired his repulsor. The guy screamed in pain as he was blasted through a wall.

This, she thought, pretty much summed up their relationship. Kissing and banter in the middle of complete carnage.

Tony took his eyes off her for a moment to look at the the leader, now passed out on the floor in a puddle of his own blood. "Did you do that?" She could hear the admiration in his voice.

"With my fist," she assured him. She raised it for him to see, her knuckles torn open in a typical boxer's injury. He took it and kissed it gently. "And it really hurts, so you better take me to a doctor right now."

"What? Just throw some ice on that, it'll be fine. I'll take care of you. Pamper your poor hand and all that. Besides, your doctor overcharges." She rolled her eyes as she moved closer and he secured her tightly, ready to fly.

"I deserve to be pampered all the time, Tony, I work my ass off and at the end of the day, this is what I get." She inclined her head, indicating the men lying on the floor.

"I know, I'm sorry, you don't deserve that." He looked at her with genuine pain in his eyes. She stressed up, kissing him lightly.

"Don't apologize. This time it was fun," she whispered.

"Oh? Next time should I not come at all?" she lightly cuffed the helmet.

"Don't be ridiculous, I'm the love of your life. You should always come." He grinned.

Yes, she thought as they rocketed through the sky. Girlfriend was too fleeting. Partner was too formal. The "love of your life" explained it quiet well.


End file.
